Ghana is looking to tap into Zimbabwe’s agricultural expertise, technology and production potential to accelerate the transformation of its own agriculture sector.
Speaking in an interview on the sidelines of the 116th Zimbabwe Agricultural Show (ZAS), recently, in Harare, Ghanaian Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, said the innovations, machinery and agricultural activities showcased at the exhibition had demonstrated Zimbabwe’s significant capacity in agriculture.
“I am so much impressed by what I have seen at the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show. What I have seen here clearly demonstrates that agriculture is indeed the backbone of Zimbabwe’s economy.
There is a lot of activity, innovation and technology on display, and this shows the enormous potential that Zimbabwe has in agriculture,” he said
Opoku said Ghana was interested in learning from Zimbabwe’s experience and identifying areas where the two countries could collaborate to strengthen agricultural production, value addition and commercialisation.
“Ghana is here to tap into the agricultural potential of Zimbabwe for the development of our country.
We have seen a lot of things that we can learn from Zimbabwe, and we believe that there is an opportunity for the two countries to share knowledge, expertise and experiences for the benefit of our people,” he added.
He said the agricultural technologies and innovations exhibited at ZAS provided important lessons for Ghana as it seeks to modernise its farming sector and improve productivity.
“What I have seen here gives us confidence that Zimbabwe has capabilities in agriculture that Ghana can tap into.
We are interested in understanding what Zimbabwe is doing right, particularly in terms of agricultural production, technology and the linkages between agriculture and industry,” Opoku noted.
The minister said stronger cooperation between Ghana and Zimbabwe could create opportunities for both countries, particularly in areas such as technology transfer, agricultural investment, processing and value addition.
“We should not only look at agriculture from the perspective of producing food. We must also look at agriculture as a business and as a means of creating jobs and wealth,” he said.
He said Ghana would continue exploring opportunities to work with Zimbabwe as it seeks to build a more productive and commercially oriented agricultural sector.
“The potential is here, and what we have seen at this show is evidence that there is a lot that Ghana can learn from Zimbabwe,” Opoku said.
Opoku’s remarks come as Zimbabwe seeks to deepen agricultural value chains and move away from exporting raw commodities, with the Government placing increased emphasis on agro-processing, mechanisation, irrigation, technology and export competitiveness.
